Spherical roller bearing

Abstract

A spherical roller bearing having an axially extending center axis with an outer ring, an inner ring arranged concentrically with the outer ring, a guide ring arranged concentrically with the inner ring and the outer ring, wherein the guide ring has a tapering radial cross-section, one set of cambered rollers on either side of the guide ring and a cage structure arranged to retain the two sets of cambered rollers. The guide ring having two circumferential guide ring sections, an inner guide ring section proximal to the inner ring and an outer guide ring section distal to the inner ring. At least one through-opening extends between two lateral surfaces of the guide ring. The at least one through-opening is arranged in the inner guide ring section and the cambered rollers of each set are distanced from the inner guide ring section and in contact with the outer guide ring section.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A spherical roller bearing having an axially extending center axis and comprising:
 an outer ring including an outer race, 
 an inner ring arranged concentrically with the outer ring and providing two inner races, 
 a guide ring arranged concentrically with the inner ring and the outer ring, the guide ring having an outer base surface facing the outer ring, an inner base surface facing the inner ring and two lateral surfaces extending between the outer base surface and the inner base surface, and the distance in the axial direction between the two lateral surfaces decreases from the outer base surface towards the inner base surface, 
 one set of cambered rollers on either side of the guide ring such that each set of rollers is associated with one inner race, and 
 a cage structure arranged to retain the two sets of cambered rollers, the guide ring providing two circumferential guide ring sections, an inner guide ring section proximal to the inner ring and extending in the radial direction between the inner base surface and a predetermined point (P) arranged between the outer base surface and the inner base surface, an outer guide ring section being distal to the inner ring and extending in the radial direction between the predetermined point (P) and the outer base surface, wherein 
 at least one through-opening extending between the two lateral surfaces is provided in the guide ring, the at least one through-opening being arranged in the inner guide ring section and wherein the cambered rollers of each set are distanced from the inner guide ring section and in contact with the outer guide ring section. 
 
     
     
       2. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the through opening arranged in the inner guide ring section extends in parallel with the axis. 
     
     
       3. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the distance in the axial direction between the two lateral surfaces continuously decreases from the outer base surface towards the inner base surface. 
     
     
       4. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein L is the total distance between the inner base surface and the outer base surface of the guide ring and the predetermined point (P) is arranged at a point positioned between 0.4 L and 0.6 L. 
     
     
       5. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 4 , wherein the predetermined point (P) is arranged at the midpoint between the outer base surface and the inner base surface of the guide ring. 
     
     
       6. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the inner guide ring section is provided with an array of circumferentially extending, uniformly distributed through-openings. 
     
     
       7. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 6 , wherein the array of through-openings provides at least two types of through-openings chosen from the group comprising cylindrical holes, slots and grooves arranged in the inner base surface of the guide ring. 
     
     
       8. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the through-opening is a cylindrical hole. 
     
     
       9. The spherical roller bearing according to any of the  claim 1 , wherein the through-opening is a slot. 
     
     
       10. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 9 , wherein the slot is arranged in parallel with a circumferential line provided on any of the lateral surfaces of the guide ring. 
     
     
       11. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 9 , wherein the slot is arranged inclined with respect to a circumferential line provided on any of the lateral surfaces of the guide ring. 
     
     
       12. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the through-opening is a groove arranged in the inner base surface of the guide ring. 
     
     
       13. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the cage structure extends circumferentially and has at least one lateral surface, wherein the lateral surface is provided with at least one through-opening and the through-openings of the inner guide ring section and of the circumferentially-extending cage structure are of similar shapes. 
     
     
       14. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 13 , wherein the through-openings of the inner guide ring section and the through-openings of the circumferentially-extending cage structure are at least partially aligned. 
     
     
       15. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the guide ring is manufactured using sintering or turning. 
     
     
       16. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the guide ring circumferentially abuts the inner ring. 
     
     
       17. The spherical roller bearing according to  claim 1 , wherein the inner ring is rotatable and the outer ring is fixed.